Barbara Mikulski's surprise announcement that she does not intend to seek a sixth term in the U.S. Senate is going to take time for her constituents to process. That Maryland's favorite daughter, its self-effacing and outspoken champion of the underdog, will not be on the ballot in 2016 (or be its leading vote-getter, as is her customary position) still seems hard to believe.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is part of a bipartisan group of senators that just reintroduced a bill meant to hold colleges more accountable in their handling of sexual assaults on campus.
On Monday, the New York Democrat will take part in round table...

Emily's List hasn't yet endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race,but that's just a formality. The PAC, founded in 1985, has helped Democratic women reach every level of elected office short of the White House. Now the group is focusing its...

The Buffalo News on changes to the parkway along the Niagara Gorge.
Feb. 25
The unmasking of the beautiful vista along the Niagara Gorge is finally starting to take shape as solid concepts emerge on how to replace a 2-mile stretch of the Robert Moses...

Everyone knows that Congress does very, very little. The Washington Post crunched the numbers last year and found that, mathematically,"no Congress in 40 years has been paid more to pass less legislation." It's also a fact that Congress is heavily male....

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Americans always like something new. A recent focus group session with a cross section of Colorado voters showed how that might affect the unfolding 2016 presidential campaign.
Participants in the nonpartisan focus group conducted by veteran Democratic Party pollster Peter Hart showed disdain for the older, more established 2016 hopefuls (think Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush) and positive curiosity about two newer faces (think Elizabeth Warren and Rand Paul.)
About the same time, 2012 Republican nominee...

One by one, three U.S. senators took turns tweeting Wednesday that they were “excited” by California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris' run for Sen. Barbara Boxer's seat.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York left it at that.
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey went further, directing his 1.5 million followers to a website where they could donate money to Harris.
And Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the biggest catch of the day, offered a full-scale endorsement, along with a plea for donations to...

The holiday season can be a time of great joy. But for many working parents, the holidays are also a stark reminder of how tenuous their employment and benefits are.
When you have paid time off, spending time with family is joyous, but what if you were forced to take time off to care for yourself or a family member?
By one estimate, 23 percent of Americans have either lost a job, or been threatened with the loss of their job, for taking time off to care for themselves or another family member. For...

The column related to these survey results is posted here.
Will one of Chicago's mayoral candidates win more than 50 percent of the vote in February's election and avoid a run-off?
Yes 69%
No 31%
Will Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel win reelection?
Yes 92%
No 8%
Which site will be chosen for Barack Obama's presidential library?
University of Chicago 63%
Columbia University 14%
University of Hawaii 13%
University of Illinois at Chicago 11%
Will plans to build the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art...

Gov. Martin O'Malley has hired a campaign manager renown for delivering long-shot victories.
As Maryland's two-term governor continues to weigh a presidential bid, his political action committee hired Bill Hyers as senior adviser.
Most recently, Hyers executed New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's come-from-behind victory last year, leading the American Association of Political Consultants to dub him the 2014 Democratic campaign manager of the year.
Hyers' reputation for a pulling off upsets includes U.S....

— Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel unveiled new initiatives Thursday to halt rape and other sexual assaults within the U.S. military after the Pentagon released a report showing an 8 percent increase in reported incidents over the past year.
The 136-page report, an annual assessment, said nearly two-thirds of sexual assault victims inside the military also complained of retaliation from within the services, a figure unchanged from two years ago.
Based on anonymous surveys of service members, the...